Cequent Parent Responds to Union Allegations

Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based TriMas Corp. has responded to a claim by Steelworkers Local 9550 that the company does not want to continue meeting with union representatives about the possible closure of its 400-employee Goshen Cequent Performance Products plant, the Goshen News reported in a front-page story on Sunday (Nov. 11).

The union issued the statement Thursday at a protest in front of the plant along Lincolnway East on the east side of the Elkhart County seat.

“As matter of policy, the company does not comment on pending litigation,” Cequent’s management stated in an e-mail. “However, we can tell you that we remain fully committed to honoring our promise to continue meeting with the union at any time up to Nov. 19, to discuss this preliminary recommendation and receive the union’s input.”

Nov. 19 is the date the company has set for a decision on whether the plant that manufactures trailer hitches and other towing products under several brand names will be closed and its production moved to Mexico.

The union filed a federal lawsuit Thursday seeking a court order keeping the company from removing equipment and moving it to Reynosa, Mexico, where Goshen jobs will be moved to if the plant is closed.